Taylor's Warf Lane, Toronto, psychogeography



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Psychogeography Portrait ... 30. Taylor’s Wharf Lane, Toronto, ON, Canada


Taylor’s Wharf Lane is between Frederick and George Streets	Taylor’s Wharf Lane is actually continuation of the Nicholoson Lane that is running between Princess Street and Berkeley Street parallel to Front Street and The Esplanade, that we talked about in the walk we performed in February 2020. Taylor’s Wharf Lane is between Frederick and George Streets, marked with the red ellipse, within first ten blocks of Toronto, as drawn by lord Simcoe in 1793 [white dotted line on our map].



	Red dotted line is edge of the lake as existed around 1800. Today lakeshore is some 300 m further south. First stretch of land was stollen from the lake for railway needs and later for the highway and industry along the lake in need for ships arriving from across the ocean. Description of the whole area is exactly same as for previously mentioned Nicholson Lane. This downtown portion of the city is only one with "genius loci" [spirit of the place] talking authentic "old Toronto" language. Difference, in this case, is that stretch along The Esplanade is developed relatively recently with affordable living mixed with some condominium building on the space stolen when railway trucks and heavy industry is removed and ground remediated. It was achieved by direct involvement by Jane Jacobs, famous urban activist. Jane Jacobs describes vibrant public spaces as places where people can walk and easily interact with one another and benefit from social and engage in common life or the collective.	This portion of the city is only one with "genius loci" talking authentic "Old Toronto" language



In 2009 my poster with this theme for the competition organized by Heritage Toronto was selected in top 10 finalists	On the map and the picture above form around 1800 it is clear what we are talking about. In 1855 the brothers James and John Taylor, emigrants from England, began making, in a small factory on Toronto’s Palace Street, the first safes ever produced in Canada. From the 1870s their factory ( J & J Taylor Safe Company or, later, The Toronto Safe Company) was located at the corner of what is now Front Street East and Frederick Streets – 133-147 Front Street East – and they owned a wharf from which to ship their safes; Taylor’s Wharf was located between Frederick and George Streets about where The Esplanade now runs.



	If you look closely at the west wall of the building you can still see the name “Toronto Safe Company” painted on the wall. These buildings housed the factory until 1959 when Chubb-Mosler and Taylor Safes Ltd. was formed, and a new office and plant were built at Brampton.



	In 2009, to commemorate the Taylor Safe Company and their wharf the City of Toronto named the laneway which runs behind the building Taylor’s Wharf Lane. I am living over there and using this laneway as a shortcut towards very few preserved historical spaces in the city.	Line ways are missed opportunity to create walkable city



	I think that this and many other laneways are missed opportunity to create walkable city and in some way keep us walking true the Toronto history, becoming more and more precious as further parts of the city are destroyed every day.



	In the last few days some changes were announced for the whole The Esplanade area from the St. Lawrence market, just East from Taylor’s Wharf Lane, all the way to the Distillery District. Even after very careful inspection of these two document, one dealing with The Esplanade Street and other about changes and improvements for David Crombie Park on the south side towards the lake, nowhere anything about what will happened with laneways is mentioned.



	This might be also called Broken Wings Lane, we found broken wings just beneath one of the the towers [photos bellow left and right] guarding both entrances.



	Maybe, if we talk about values of pedestrianism and walking, and spread our thoughts needs and wishes, someone of those in charge will hear us and do something. Not much is needed.



	Two maps above are hint what is going to be my next exploratory walk. I want to visit all ten blocks as marked in a plan of Lord Simcoe from 1973 and incorporated in the downtown historic core of Toronto. Darker red lines are marking this laneway and the Nicholson lane visited last year. Lighter red lines are other lineways that exist today.

27 ❖ Nicholson Lane, Toronto - February 2020 ~ 29 ❖ Little Filipino Town, Toronto, May 2017 25 ❖ Jurjeva Luka, Lastovo, Hrvatska, September 2018 ~ 07 ❖ Koraćica, special village, Serbia - September, 2011
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Last time updated on March 13, 2021